Right Now It's Untitled
by royal-chandler
Summary: “Yeah, you know how guys have girl trouble?” He watched her nod in response, “Well I have Langston trouble.” Henry Mackler


Hey everyone! Here's another one-shot that I'm putting out there. It's another Langston/Henry centric story. Third time's a charm right! It will probably be my last for the couple though. It was inspired by listening to my Spring Awakening soundtrack. I guess it can be called AU, because right now in the One Life to Live universe Henry is dead :( Takes place about two years in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Life to Live or its characters. ABC does...but I am in talks about ownership of Jonathan Groff lol.

**Right Now It's Untitled **

"This is so stupid," Langston commented to Starr as they walked through a school corridor. The hallway was decorated with streamers, hand made posters and flyers, all advertising the upcoming prom.

"It's not stupid," Starr retorted. "It's our senior prom. It's sweet."

Langston snorted, "Gag me. It's just a ridiculous end of the year dance that everyone builds up to be something it's not. It's more about the after parties anyways. Girls buy two hundred dollar dresses and guys get wasted barfing all over them." She stopped at Starr's locker and leaned against the one next to it, her own. "What a joy!" She said sarcastically.

Starr turned the combination and pulled the metal door open. She put back in two books and said, "I think you're just bitter because you don't have a date."

Starr naturally was going with Cole, her date already set. It was true that Langston didn't have a date but she didn't want one anyways. Right? She had gotten asked but no one seemed worth her valuable three hours. Now prom was in two days and she had no date. Maybe she should have gone ahead and said yes to someone. Too late now, she thought. Langston would just have to settle on going alone or eating Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice-cream at home alone and watching Friday Night Wrestling with her father. Neither option sounded to appealing.

The slam of Starr's locker door startled her but her best friend didn't seem to notice.

"What about that Randolph guy who asked you out yesterday?" Starr asked in an attempt to keep Langston positive.

The girl looked annoyed, "You mean the bumbling moron who tripped into my lap during the assembly? That's not happening."

"I thought he was cute," Starr replied.

"You thought what?" A voice asked from behind.

The girls turned around to see Cole and Henry behind them. Cole had a confused look on his face and Henry was interested to see what was going one.

Starr hurried to assure him on the subject, "This guy asked out Langston. I was just telling her that she should give him a chance."

Cole nodded in comprehension but Henry was the one to vocally respond. "Someone asked you out?"

Langston shrugged carelessly, "It's no big deal."

Starr gaped at her and then turned towards the guys, "Six boys have asked her out this week alone but she's declined every single offer."

"Well you can't force her to go out with them, Starr." Cole said.

"Cole's right. Langston has the right to her own choosing." Henry added firmly. Henry was relieved. His stomach had dropped when he heard that Langston had been asked out. He hadn't been able to breathe. He didn't know what had compelled him but he couldn't stand the idea of Langston being with _some guy _at prom.

"So how about we all head to the coffeehouse?" Starr offered minutes later as the group walked out of the school.

Henry stopped his pace, "Umm…actually Cole and I are heading to the library downtown. We have a huge government test to study for."

The only problem was that this was the first time that Cole had heard about it. He caught the pleading look in Henry's eyes and began to agree. "Yeah, that's right, I almost forgot. Big test tomorrow."

Starr raised a brow at their abrupt change in plans. "Well I guess it will be just Langston and me."

"Just you and Langston, no one else!" Henry chimed suddenly feeling very warm. "A--at the coffeehouse doing girl…stuff."

Langston laughed at his comedic antics, "Right. Have fun studying."

Starr smiled at the pair and then directed a question to Cole, "You'll call me later?"

He nodded, "Of course."

Starr was satisfied with the answer and headed off with Langston. Cole watched them leave and waited until they were out of earshot to talk to Henry. "You mind telling me what's going on?"

"I had to talked to you," Henry supplied warily.

Cole crossed her arms in front of his chest, "What about?"

"Langston."

Cole grinned at his friend and looked at him sympathetically. "I could have guessed. You should've have been more discreet though."

Henry was puzzled, "What?"

"They definitely know something's up." Henry still harbored a confused expression, so Cole clarified his answer. "First of all, we don't share a government class together. Secondly, you're whole stuttering, sputtering act was less than convincing."

"Do you think Langston knows?" Henry asked worriedly, tension now in his posture.

"I doubt it."

* * *

"That was weird," Langston stated, dropping her satchel and herself into a secluded booth at the coffeehouse. 

Starr was close behind her with two steaming Styrofoam cups of coffees. She handed a cup over to Langston and sat across from her friend. "I wonder what's up."

"Who knows?" Langston solicited taking a sip of her hot liquid.

Starr shrugged, "Henry was acting pretty strange."

Langston smirked, "That's Mackler for ya."

Starr spied Langston's expression and suddenly a light bulb went off in her head, "Henry likes you! Oh my gosh, Langston! Henry is totally in love with you!"

Langston spit out her, "What? No he isn't."

"He is. Didn't you notice his panic attack over hearing that Randolph asked you out?" Starr asked enthusiastically, Langston could practically see the gears spinning in her head.

"No." Langston lied but the rose color in her face proved against her.

Starr grinned, "And it looks like it might not be one sided."

Langston frowned knowing that Starr wasn't going to give up on the idea. Somewhere deep inside of herself, she had known that Henry had feelings for her. Well at least she had guessed he did. He was always there to help her out and offer her support with anything. On the rare occasion that the foursome would hang out at her house he was always the last to leave. When her drunken dad would be sitting in a cushioned chair oblivious to the world, Henry would go around the house checking the windows and the locks. There were also the times when she didn't have a ride to school because she'd missed the bus, she could always press the number 2 on her cell phone and he'd be there in a flash. Langston was thankful for him—she really was. And somewhere along the line, her appreciation had turned into admiration bordering close to the thin love line.

Starr looked over her friend in consideration, "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Langston shrugged with tension, "I don't know. It never seemed important."

"Everything that's important to you is important to me. You're my best friend, Langston; I care about how you feel. You can tell me anything." Starr reminded her gently.

Langston breathed out a breath, "I think I'm in love with Mackler."

"Well that's a good start." Starr said with a small smile.

The dark brown eyes that belonged to Langston became clouded with fear, "No, it's not good. I'm not used to feeling this way—caring so much for someone, someone that's not my mom…or you." The girl's features started to soften, "But he's so sweet and caring, Starr. He puts my wellbeing over his at times. Are they supposed to do that? Guys, boyfriends?"

Starr nodded quickly, "Yeah."

"Yeah," Langston repeated, trying to assure herself.

"So..." Starr drawled, "Do you want to go to prom with him?"

A toothy grin broke out on Langston's face, "More than anything."

* * *

Cole's eyes roamed over the room. He could almost swear that he had walked into the twilight zone. Copies of famous art masterpieces decorated the walls and books filled up the shelves. They were probably organized in alphabetical order, or by genre or something. The area was absolutely spotless; Cole found it hard to believe that this was the bedroom of an 18 year old. He had been there before but it always seemed cleaner. "You are an absolute neat freak, Henry Mackler." Cole declared. 

Henry looked over his bedroom, "It's not that bad."

"I can't decide between an old folks' home or a museum."

Henry ignored the comments and dropped down onto his bed helplessly. "What am I going to do, Cole?"

Cole gazed at his best friend with interest rather than pity. "Here's what you do. Tell her how you feel and ask her out."

Shaking his head, Henry replied. "I can't do that."

"Alright," Cole piped up. "You'll be at her wedding in about ten years, sitting in the backrow feeling sorry for yourself because you never took the chance. You won't even get to object because you'll be speechless at the sight of a beauty that cannot be yours."

Henry gawked at Cole, "Are you serious?"

Cole chuckled at Henry's expression. "No, dude, I'm teasing. However, I don't think that you should let Langston go because you never know who's waiting around the corner."

The thought squeezed Henry's heart, he wanted to cry and then laugh at the irony. This one beautiful girl had so much influence and power over him. It didn't upset him, he was happy to be hers but he didn't know how. What if she didn't even feel the same way? What if she was appalled at the thought of being with him in a romantic way?

"Cole?" Henry started unsure, "How did you know that Starr was the _one_?How did you two know that you were ready to be with each other _that way_?" He stressed on certain words uncomfortably.

Cole's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why do you ask, Henry?"

"Hypothetically, I ask Langston to prom and she says yes. I want the night to be special for her, whatever special means for her—I want it to happen." Henry would only disclose this information to not even a handful of people. He trusted Cole and valued his opinion. He knew that he could be honest with the guy without getting laughed at or ridiculed for his inexperience.

Cole sat on the bed beside the slouched form of Henry, "The first time I knew I had fallen in love with Starr was at Llantano Mountain at the Winter Festival two years ago. She was in my room, her face was flushed and she was timid but she looked beautiful. I kissed her and things started moving really fast. If we hadn't got caught, I don't know if we would have stopped. We did though because fate intervened. It wasn't time for us. However, the time came and it felt more right than at the Winter Festival. We were committed and ready for the next level. It all comes down to trust and having that connection that agrees between the two, knowing when you _both_ are ready."

Henry took it all to heart, "I'm definitely not ready."

Cole smiled knowingly, "The wait makes it all the better."

Henry noted the humor in Cole's voice that came with the unoriginal words, "Don't get me started."

Cole laughed, Henry soon joining in.

* * *

"Hey," Starr greeted to Henry and Cole when they appeared near the booth, "How was studying?" 

Cole answered, "Great! We got a lot of work done. I think Henry agrees with me when I say that we're going to ace that test tomorrow. Right, Henry?"

Henry wheeled his head to the side, "Right. Cole now understands the functions of U.S. government and is an expert on check and balances."

Langston smiled, "I'm sure he had a great tutor."

Henry reddened at the attention. He and Langston missed the eye contact that Starr and Cole gave one another.

"Cole," Starr began, "How about I quiz you on the judicial branch?" She pointed to the other end of the establishment. "Over there."

Cole shook his head yes without hesitation. "Sure."

Starr scooted out of the booth, instructing Henry to take her place "Sit."

The couple walked off after excusing themselves and left the other two teenagers alone. Langston absentmindedly began stirring her cold coffee with a plastic stick. She smiled friendly at her next guest, "Could they be anymore obvious?"

Henry returned the smile, "Only if they decided to state their motives aloud."

"So…" Langston dragged, repeating the similar action that Starr had done minutes earlier, "How was studying?"

"Good," Henry stated nervously, he felt a tad guilty about the fib.

Langston eyed him suspiciously, "You didn't study."

"Who says?" Henry asked interested in her answer.

"I know when you lie, Mackler, you're very bad at it. Also the only class you share with Cole is gym, you take AP World History." Langston explained, daring him to come up with something.

Are we flirting? Henry wondered. "You've got me."

"Ha!" Langston exclaimed victoriously. Then she added softly, "I knew the entire time. What did you and Cole do instead? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind," It was now or never. "He was helping me out with Langston trouble."

Langston arched a brow at the strange response, "Langston trouble?"

Henry grinned almost wickedly and Langston melted at the expression. She had never seen him do that…well except for that one time they were playing chess and he'd been one move away from completely dismantling her. "Yeah, you know how guys have girl trouble?" He watched her nod in response, "Well I have Langston trouble."

Langston swallowed, "Henry, what's the problem you have with me?" She was nearing dangerous waters now.

"I don't have any problems with you," Henry told her truthfully, "I got jealous earlier when I heard that someone had asked you out, that six guys had asked you out."

"I said no to all of them." Langston reminded him.

"Why?" he inquired.

It took several moments for her to answer. She finally stopped playing with her straw and thought of what her response would be. "I'm tired of this dance. We try to ignore how the other feels and pretend like it doesn't exist. Well, I do. I try to erase the way you look at me. I try to forget the color of your eyes and how bright they get when I debate with you or when I step into your car first thing in the morning."

"You're beautiful." Henry inserted. When the day hadn't affected her yet and she was still vibrant for a new day.

"I feel that way with you." Langston confessed uncharacteristically shy. "Are you as scared as I am?"

"Terrified but I don't want to sit in the back at your wedding." He replied simply.

She accepted the answer as if she knew what he was referring to, "Okay."

Henry gingerly stretched a hand across the table reaching for one of her own, she hesitantly placing a small hand in his possession. Henry stared at her with kind eyes, "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Don't get mad but I want to take you out for more dancing. Is that alright?"

Langston grinned widely, "Only if you promise to let my feet rest on yours if they start hurting."

"Done." He turned serious, "As long as you need me, Langston, I'm here to lean on. I promise you."

She bent over the table separating them and placed a quick peck against his cheek, retreating back as soon as she had snuck up on him. "Thank you."

The End

Too fluffy? Not enough fluff? Tell me what you think!


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